daniel chigunwe
Fildah Gwati
WITH calls to treat agriculture as a business growing louder by the day, farmers need to adopt diverse crop options and broaden their revenue streams to optimise production efficiency to make their farming activities sustainable on the backdrop of maximum agricultural output.
Experts in agriculture have singled out horticultural crops as wielding the transformative powers to enrich farmers by bringing in diversified incomes that can be used finance the procurement of inputs critical in the production of other crops and take care of wages given that farmers face cash flow challenges during the production of intensive cash crops.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Dr Shadreck Makombe said: “Farmers need to indulge in horticultural activities because they produce immediate cash crops that will generate income for running their farms. If done properly, horticultural activities can generate a lot of profit for the farmer. Horticultural crops’ short cultivation cycle and high market value provide farmers with an additional income stream that can buffer against market fluctuations and yield losses in other crops. Farmers can also expand their product portfolio and mitigate risks associated with relying solely on traditional crops.”
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary general Mr Paul Zakariya added that horticulture comes with costs and if not properly controlled a farmer may incur losses but if managed properly, they can generate good profits. This increases the farmers’ working capital as profits will be repatriated to help in the production process of the main cash crops on the farm, he further observed.
Mr Zakariya added that farmers can ensure that cash flows remained positive during the production cycle through disposing idle farming equipment, which is no longer usable in order to boost cash flow on the farm.
He emphasised that farmers must never underestimate their working capital requirements especially for repairs and maintenance, labour payments and other increasing activities on the farm.
“In order for farmers to reduce pressure on cash flow, there is need to digitalise their production methods, for example, adopting drip irrigation can cut labour costs as few people are needed to monitor the system, which reduces labour costs. The minimum wage for most farm labourers is US$80 a month. Digitalisation allows farmers to employ less workers and still achieve great yields of high quality without straining their cash flows,” Mr Zakariya added.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) chairman Mr George Seremwe said it was necessary for farmers to do horticulture as a way of generating more incomes to meet other expenses. They can score good yields and quality produce that can be competitive at the market without compromising their efforts do the best for the other cropping activities.
Online Reporter